Category:
Health

Life and Death

Pregnancy tests can confirm new life, but it turns out they can also warn of something deadly as well. A Reddit user, or his friend, found a pregnancy test that was left behind by an ex. He took it as a lark and got a positive result. Upon seeing the post about it several of the site's commenters warned that the hormone that causes a positive test for a pregnant woman is also produced by testicular cancer tumors. This resulted in the man who took the test getting treatment for his early stage testicular cancer. Lucky guy to find out right away like that. The internet has many uses and a few of them have nothing at all to do with porn, who knew?!

Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 07, 2012 - Comments (5)
Category: Health

Cold Wind Causing Facial Paralysis

A search on Google Scholar reveals that common causes of facial paralysis include Herpes simplex virus, lyme disease, Bell's palsy, and Ramsay Hunt syndrome. But in Shanghai, doctors are reporting numerous cases of facial paralysis caused by the cold autumn wind. Fatigue is also a contributing factor. A Shanghai doctor cautions that, "Elderly people, new mothers, children with weak immunity, and those exposed to cold wind after drinking are the most likely to suffer facial paralysis."

It's also reported that the "majority of the patients are male between 20 and 50 years of age." (I'm guessing they're the ones being exposed to the cold wind after drinking.) They're coming into hospitals complaining of sudden paralysis on one side of the face. A little bit of acupuncture and massage, and they're set right. [hillpost.in]

Posted By: Alex - Thu Oct 18, 2012 - Comments (8)
Category: Health, Medicine, Weather

The Bar Sinister

Yale University researcher Marsha Guess recommends that female cyclists should raise their handlebars above the level of the seat in order to avoid genital numbness. She concluded this after examining 48 female cyclists, using a biothesiometer to measure how sensitive their genitals were to vibrations after riding with the handlebars at different heights. Her study, "The Bar Sinister: Does handlebar level damage the pelvic floor in female cyclists?" is published in a recent issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine. More info here.

Incidentally, Dr. Guess has carved out a niche for herself as a specialist in the relationship between bicycling and female sexual health. Some of her previous publications include, "Women's Bike Seats: A Pressing Matter for Competitive Female Cyclists" and "Genital Sensation and Sexual Function in Women Bicyclists and Runners: Are Your Feet Safer than Your Seat?"

Posted By: Alex - Sun Aug 12, 2012 - Comments (4)
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, Health, Genitals

Turpo

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A salve made from turpentine? The same stuff you clean your paint brushes with? A wonder drug! And apparently, it cured colds, burns, and so much more!

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You say you wish you could get your hands on some of this miraculous stuff? The Russians still make it! Follow the Amazon links below.



Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 20, 2012 - Comments (15)
Category: Health, Hygiene, Medicine, Cures for the common cold, 1920s, Russia, Diseases

The Benefits of Placentophagy

In a recent article in the journal Ecology of Food and Nutrition, Mark Kristal argues that placentophagia (that is, the eating of afterbirth or placenta) could offer significant benefits for humans — especially considering that all other mammals (including non-human primates) do it. (link: ScienceDaily.com). These benefits might include increasing mother-infant interaction, increasing the effects of pregnancy-mediated analgesia in the delivering mother, and potentiating opioid circuits in the maternal brain that facilitate the onset of caretaking behavior. He acknowledges that these possible benefits don't warrant "the wholesale ingestion of afterbirth," but he does think the issue deserves further study.

The strange thing is that although all other mammals practice placentophagy, no human cultures do (according to Dr. Kristal) — except for Hollywood celebrities.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Apr 09, 2012 - Comments (6)
Category: Babies, Food, Nutrition, Health

Sauna Pants

Who wouldn't want a sauna in their pants? Get yours from Amazon. Here's a testimonial from one of the reviews:

Like a lot of guys, I sometimes have trouble getting a good crotch sweat going. Wrapping my nethers in plastic wrap and a dozen freshly baked Hot Pockets only goes so far. So, as soon as I saw this magnificent product I knew I must have it. The friendly orange hue and easy-to-use velcro attachments greatly appealed to me, and I was very pleased to see the roomy 54" waistline!


Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 29, 2012 - Comments (5)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Health, Inventions

Fingernail Surgery To Remove Seborrheic Keratoses

The medical rule I've heard is that you're not supposed to pick at zits or skin growths, because you'll only make them worse — or cause an infection. But apparently this rule doesn't apply to seborrheic keratoses. According to Dr. George Lundberg, Editor in Chief of MedGenMed, go ahead and pick 'em. Or rather, use "fingernail surgery" to remove 'em. That's what he does!



However, Lundberg's advice hasn't met with universal approval from the medical community. Among the resonses to his editorial on MedGenMed is this one:

To the Editor:
I find your piece embarrassing and unworthy of your Internet service.
If you had bothered to do some research, even just reading eMedicine, you would find that curettage, not excision, is the recommended treatment -- a far more sterile version of a fingernail surgery. The curettage procedure is usually nonscarring though rarely some mild hypopigmentation may result.
The use of fingernail surgery is to be condemned as it is a bacterially contaminated area.
Picking at one's own skin with the fingernails is a bad habit and in its extreme form can become obsessive and result in scarring -- a disorder known as neurotic excoriation.
Many elderly gentlemen will pick at solar keratoses on their scalp, leaving it in a persistent state of bleeding and infection; I sincerely hope that you are not headed in this direction.
If your medical colleagues excise your seb warts or cause significant scars, or if you suspect that they choose their therapies on the basis of cost benefit to themselves, I suggest you take the matter up with your State Medical Board rather than indulging in self-injury.
If there is any doubt about the diagnosis, the curetted specimen can be sent for pathology.
Cheers,
Philip Bekhor
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 28, 2012 - Comments (9)
Category: Health, Medicine, Surgery, Skin and Skin Conditions

Follies of the Mad Men #178



My questions:

1) Did girls and women acquire those same Charles Atlas muscleman biceps shown on the box, or just boys and men?

2) Do they eat Pep on the International Space Station today?

3) Does anyone today still say, "He's got pep!" or "I feel peppy!"...?

And if you haven't had enough cereal trivia, please allow me to highly commend this new book, which is a lot of fun. My review will appear soon at THE BARNES & NOBLE REVIEW.


Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 07, 2012 - Comments (6)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Family, Food, Nutrition, Health, 1950s

Whiskey for Health

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Such was the medical wisdom of 1912.

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 03, 2012 - Comments (9)
Category: Health, Advertising, 1910s, Alcohol

The Tooth

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 21, 2011 - Comments (6)
Category: Aliens, Body, Screams, Grunts and Other Exclamations, Health, Cartoons

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Who We Are
Alex Boese
Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

Paul Di Filippo
Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1.

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